They’ve got issues
As expected, Boston Mayor Tom Menino was re-elected Tuesday, beating his challenger, at-large Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty, by a comfortable margin. Menino’s cause was boosted by endorsements from the Globe and the Boston Herald, among others. (The Phoenix endorsed Flaherty and his running mate, fellow at-large City Councilor Sam Yoon.) But two unorthodox media developments may also have helped him.

The first was the Bay State Banner’s decision, in its October 29 issue, to break with precedent and take a pass on endorsing anyone for mayor. Not too long ago, it seemed certain that the African-American-focused Banner would urge voters to cast out Menino after four terms. After all, back in April — when Menino still hadn’t announced that he’d seek re-election — the Banner accused the mayor of “demeaning the black perspective,” and bluntly stated: “no self-respecting African-American can vote for Menino if he chooses to run again.”

Those were odd statements, given Menino’s popularity in the black community — which is considerable, despite abiding problems in Boston’s minority-dominated schools. The immediate explanation, judging from the editorial: Melvin B. Miller, the Banner’s irascible publisher and editor, was angered that the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) had de-designated a local group, Elma Lewis Partners LLC, as developers of a choice parcel of land in Roxbury. But the editorial’s other beefs (Menino doesn’t appoint enough black males to his administration; when questioning gets tough at community events, Menino sends surrogates instead of going himself) suggested an irrevocable break.

What changed? Shortly after the Banner’s editorial, Menino reversed the aforementioned development decision. Then, in July, the Banner suspended publication due to economic duress. Menino promptly rode to the rescue, arranging a $200,000 loan from the city-affiliated Boston Local Development Corp. And Next Street Financial, LLC — a Roxbury-based bank that counts several Menino donors among its staff — devised a new Banner business plan.

Fast forward to last week, when the Banner sized up Menino v. Flaherty thusly: “Voters should be interested enough in the outcome of the election to study the record of both candidates.”

Short of actually endorsing Menino — which would have pushed the Banner into a blatant bit of self-contradiction — this tepid non-endorsement was actually the biggest boost the paper could have given the mayor. It’s also potent evidence that government-sponsored assistance for newspapers is a bad idea. Yes, Menino’s intervention kept the Banner alive, which is a good thing. But in the process, it deeply compromised the paper’s independence.

The second twist, meanwhile, was the Herald’s decision to obsess, in the stretch drive of the most compelling Boston mayor’s race in recent memory, over an enterprise story on — wait for it — the Facebook habits of some City Hall staffers. The emphasis, notably, was on employees of the Boston City Council, a body Menino likes to deride — and where Flaherty and Yoon just happen to work.

That’s right. On October 28, the Herald’s cover screamed: “Farcebook: We Catch City Hall Hacks Doing lots of Social Not-Working on the Job.” Inside, readers got the lurid (ahem) details — including the shocking revelation that Amy Derjue, the communications director for City Council President Mike Ross, posts on Facebook and Twitter during the work day.

Fourth-estate follies, 2009 edition Between the rise of the Web, the ADD-addling of America, the fragmentation of any national political consensus, and the devastated economy, working in the press can feel a bit like manning the Titanic — and this year, the entire industry seemed to teeter on the edge of oblivion.

Murdoch mishegoss Never mind that Rupert Murdoch is shelling out better than $2 billion to buy Metromedia’s seven TV stations. Never mind that he’s then turning around and reselling Boston’s WCVB-TV, Channel 5 to the Hearst Corporation for an astounding $450 million.

The Globe's Plight If history is just one damn thing after another, then we are living in undeniably historic times.

Goal rush! Get two journalists in a room these days, and before the conversation is five minutes old they'll probably be kvetching about the grim state of the news business. Unless, that is, they happen to be sports journalists, in which case the conversation will likely focus on how absurdly bright the future looks. Especially here in Boston.

BULLY FOR BU! | March 12, 2010 After six years at the Phoenix , I recently got my first pre-emptive libel threat. It came, most unexpectedly, from an investigative reporter. And beyond the fact that this struck me as a blatant attempt at intimidation, it demonstrated how tricky journalism's new, collaboration-driven future could be.

STOP THE QUINN-SANITY! | March 03, 2010 The year is still young, but when the time comes to look back at 2010's media lowlights, the embarrassing demise of Sally Quinn's Washington Post column, "The Party," will almost certainly rank near the top of the list.

RIGHT CLICK | February 19, 2010 Back in February 2007, a few months after a political neophyte named Deval Patrick cruised to victory in the Massachusetts governor's race with help from a political blog named Blue Mass Group (BMG) — which whipped up pro-Patrick sentiment while aggressively rebutting the governor-to-be's critics — I sized up a recent conservative entry in the local blogosphere.

RANSOM NOTES | February 12, 2010 While reporting from Afghanistan two years ago, David Rohde became, for the second time in his career, an unwilling participant rather than an observer. On October 29, 1995, Rohde had been arrested by Bosnian Serbs. And then in November 2008, Rohde and two Afghan colleagues were en route to an interview with a Taliban commander when they were kidnapped.

POOR RECEPTION | February 08, 2010 The right loves to rant against the "liberal-media elite," but there's one key media sector where the conservative id reigns supreme: talk radio.